Via Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker
Councilman Ron Nirenberg suggested implementing Stage 1 Restrictions year-round.
After a 50-day respite from years of water restrictions, the dog days of summer are leaving San Antonio high and dry once again.
A solution? Practice year-round water thriftiness by making Stage 1 Restrictions the norm. That’s what Councilman Ron Nirenberg suggested today in a memo.
“The cheapest, most available water is the water we do not use,” said Nirenberg said in a news release. “As SAWS pursues an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to long-term water security...a continued commitment to conservation must continue to play a central role.”
Stage 1 Restrictions kick in when the 10-day rolling average of the Edwards Aquifer drops to 660 feet. The restrictions limit sprinkler or soaker hose usage to once per week before 11 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
State Representative Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, supports Nirenberg’s idea.
“Maintaining once per week outdoor watering is a proven best water management practice,” Larson said. “Implementing a year-round once weekly outdoor watering policy would be a perfect next step in the utility’s conservation strategy.”
Nirenberg’s memo was co-signed by City Council members Mike Gallagher, Ray Lopez, Alan Warrick and Roberto Trevino.
